MIAMI (WSVN) - As the Miami Heat got ready to hit the road for their first playoff game of the season, a pep rally at Florida International University got the team’s fans in the mood for the upcoming game series.
7News cameras captured team members hitting the court at the American Airlines Arena on Friday, one day before they begin the playoffs by taking on the Philadelphia 76ers.
“We have a prep day today, a meeting yesterday,” said Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. “I like this, just having a couple of days, and let’s start the series.”
To kick off the playoffs, Heat nation also held the pep rally at FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus in West Miami-Dade.
“Everyone’s ready to go, I’m ready to go, so we brought it here to the FIU students,” said rally host Dale McLean, “and, of course, Miami, and FIU is Miami, so let’s start here.”
The Heat will be facing off against the No. 3 76ers, who are coming off a 16-game winning streak.
“It’s easy not to think about that,” said Heat forward Josh Richardson. “We’re just worried about our preparation today on the court … we’re approaching it like any other playoffs game.”
“They’ve been playing well, but we’ve been training in the right direction as well,” said Heat forward James Johnson. “Things we wanted to work on and things we wanted to accomplish, I think we got there.”
The Heat will play against the 76ers in Philadelphia Saturday and Monday, before both teams head to the AAA on Thursday and next Saturday.
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